In Case You Haven’t Figured It Out Yet, Facebook Thinks Breastfeeding Is Obscene

You know the old saying, “actions speak louder than words?” Facebook keeps insisting that breastfeeding is “natural and important.” They also keep removing pictures of women engaging in it. What’s the deal?

Gina Crosley-Corcoran, also know as “The Feminist Breeder,” had one of her photos removed and her account suspended this week when she posted a picture of her daughter eating a piece of bacon. Yes, you read that right. The baby is shown eating a piece of bacon. This is the caption that appeared next to it, courtesy of The Feminist Breeder:

And now, you’ve seen everything: Jolene swiped bacon off my plate and tried to nurse and eat at the same time. When I got bit, I told her she had to choose. She chose bacon.

It seems her breastfeeding was interrupted when she saw a piece of bacon on her mom’s plate and opted for that instead of breast milk. She just happens to be next to some of her mother’s exposed skin, so a random Facebook user became disgusted and appalled – as Facebook users are wont to do. This random user reported Crosley-Corcoran’s account and it was suspended – but not before she left the most bizarre and disturbing comment on The Feminist Breeder’s page:

I never liked the photo, I reported the photo. And those are the kids that end up growing to be sex offenders.

I’m sorry, what? Which part is the future-sex-offender-indicator here – the breastfeeding or the bacon? Also, did you just call someone’s beautiful child a future sex offender? What in the hell is wrong with you? And Facebook – do you respond to all requests from crazy people to remove things that are not offensive and clearly don’t violate your terms? Because there is a woman I went to high school with who seriously has not aged a day in 20 years, and is constantly posting pictures of herself in a bikini. They make me feel so fat and old. Can you take those down, too?

On her own blog, Crosley-Corcoran revealed that 1500 people “liked” the photo, 40 people shared it on their own pages, and hundreds of people commented on it. But it only took one person to be offended and report it for Facebook to take it down. I find that so odd, considering there are other pages which actually are offensive and seem to get an undeserved pass. Not to mention the fact that Crosley-Corcoran is a very vocal advocate of breastfeeding and natural childbirth. What is someone that is so squeamish about all-things-breast doing subscribing to her page anyway?

Facebook has a strict policy against the sharing of pornographic content and imposes limitations on the display of nudity. At the same time, we aspire to respect people’s right to share content of personal importance, whether those are photos of a sculpture like Michelangelo’s David or family photos of a child breastfeeding.

Get it together, Facebook. A picture of a child taking a break from breastfeeding to indulge in a piece of bacon is hilarious and adorable – to anyone that would subscribe to The Feminist Breeder’s page, anyway. Well, unless they’re vegans. Can we stop making martyrs out of women who are simply feeding their children?

Crosley-Corcoran responded to the suspension by starting a 72-Hour Campaign To Normalize Breastfeeding On Facebook. As of this morning, that got her blocked for another seven days. I guess the lesson here is that Facebook really doesn’t care if you are violating their terms or not. They’re bigger and stronger and they win. I can almost see Mark Zuckerberg sticking his tongue out yelling, “Na, na, na, na, naaaa!”